Lisa McDonald (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the broad thrust of the Bill and fully acknowledge and support the enthusiasm and concern of Senator Quinn in bringing the legislation before the House. As he said, it is about saving lives. That tenet needs to be fully appreciated and respected.

Consent for the donation of organs for transplantation is a central issue. The opt-in or opt-out, or presumed consent versus the mandated choice, which have all been outlined by previous speakers, are the models that require public consultation and broader debate. Given the editorial in The Irish Times today that debate has commenced and is welcome. In view of the organ retention scandal of recent times, this is timely legislation and I urge the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, to bring forward the human tissue Bill as soon as possible. The Bill is about saving lives and for those on the transplant lists for various organs, including cystic fibrosis sufferers, this cannot happen soon enough. There is a need to move forward with the legislation as soon as possible.

I do not doubt that the presumed consent, the opt-in model, has meant that donation rates have risen in the countries that have adopted it. That financial resources have been saved due to the higher rate of organ donation is a welcome side effect.

The issue of specified activities, which Senator O'Toole dealt with in detail, involving human tissue, the post mortem examination, the anatomical examination, the public display, transplantation research, and import and export of human tissue from deceased donors may need to be looked at in the legislation that comes before the Oireachtas in that it may need to be separated. There would be widespread support for presumed consent for transplantation but I am not sure if there would be the same level of support for research. Perhaps those issues could be divided when drafting the Bill. All the issues need to be dealt with and legislation is required. In that regard the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, stated that the report of Dr. Deirdre Madden on post mortem practice and procedures has led to key recommendations for bringing forward legislation in this area. That is what the Minister is looking at. On the issue of hospital post mortems and their regulation versus the coroner's post mortem, the latter is separate and is being dealt with in the Coroners Bill which is before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Senator O'Toole made the point in regard to the consent of the relatives and bringing them in on the process that if they consider what is being done is the donation of an organ as a gift that could help the healing and the grieving process and although the death of the deceased was untimely he or she has given the gift of life to somebody else. That is something the lobby groups should take into consideration.

We are concerned here with a huge cultural change but it is a step we need to take. When I was in university, during Fresher's Week there were tables from which one picked up a donor card. I am a donor card carrier but if I was to meet an untimely death going home to Wexford tomorrow, the card is probably in another purse or somewhere in my papers.

As a practising solicitor for the past ten years I have noticed that increasing numbers of people want to write their will, despite the fact that until recently, rural people found it taboo to speak about death. People in towns and cities have a greater ability to deal with these issues. As a country we have been holding back on this issue and this has led to a series of intestasies.

Recently I have noticed that some people say they want to be cremated after death. It is their wish, not their relatives' wish. The first point I make to such a person is to tell his or her next of kin and relatives because the practising solicitor may not hear of the person's death until a week later when it would be too late. Cremation is something we are not used to in Ireland and for relatives it is a new departure. However, it is on the increase.

In writing their post death testamentary dispositions, that is, their wills, people are also saying they wish their organs to be donated. Again, that is too late. Legislation is needed to deal with this issue post haste after a crucial accident has taken the life of a loved one. We need to bring society along with us and in that regard the Minister is prudent in offering this aspect to the wider public for consultation. However, I fully acknowledge the thrust and tenet of Senator Quinn's Bill and the work he has put into it. I agree with Senator Feeney's request for the broad base of the Bill to be taken into consideration by the Minister when the legislation comes before the House. The last paragraph of The Irish Times editorial today reads:

A major 2006 international study found that, when other factors are eliminated, presumed consent can give rise to a 25 to 30% increase in organ supply. For those desperately waiting for their chance this would represent real hope.